LANDON CHOSEN.

Auckland Star, Volume LXVII, Issue 139, 13 June 1936, Page 9

LANDON CHOSEN.

REPUBLICAN NOMINEE Aspirant for Presidency in America. | SCENES AT CONVENTION. United Press Association.—Copyright. (Received 9.30 a.m.) CLEVELAND, June 12. The Republican Convention yesterday nominated Mr. Alfred M. Landon, Governor of Kansas, as its candidate for the Presidency, and Colonel F. S. Knox for the VicePresidency. At the outset, Mr. Laiulon's campaign manager, Air. John Hamilton, rose and read a telegram from Mr. Laiulon, who was in Topeka, which caused a mild sensation. It stated that Mr. Landon disagreed with two planks in the party's platform. The message stated first that, if necessary, Mr. Landon would approve an amendment to the Constitution to protect women and children in industry in respect of wages and hours. Secondly he interpreted the sound currency plank to mean currency in terms of gold, and convertible into gold, but the latter not to be sought until it could be achieved without injury to domestic economy and foreign trade. Mr. Hamilton then put the name of Mr. Landon for nomination and the delegates began the expected demonstration. Headed by the Kansas banners, virtually all the State delegations, aided by every conceivable noisemaking device, paraded the floor of the hall. It was in the best manner of American conventions —noisy and very artificial.

No other State would offer a candidate. Senator Vandenberg and the other aspirants, or their representatives, announced their withdrawal and the path was quite clear for Mr. Landon.

After the nomination speech by Mr. Hamilton, there was a rush of the previous opposition candidates to express approval of Mr. Landon.

In addition to half a dozen scheduled addresses, every candidate with the exception of Mr. W. E. Borah, who had left for Washington, spoke in favour of the nomination of the Governor of Kansas.

"In this convention I belong to but one bloc, and it has but one slogan, namely, 'Stop Roosevelt'," said Mr. Vandenberg.

3 There was tremendous excitement as, State by State, the voting started. It was an unbroken parade until the chairman of the West Virginia delegation, Mr. Carl G. Bachmann, Mr. Borah's manager, cast 10 votes for Mr. Landon and one of his own for Mr. Borah. Six- [ teen of the Wisconsin delegates voted for Mr. Borah and six for Mr. Landon. At the end of the roll-call, however, the Wisconsin delegation moved that the nomination bu made unanimous, and this was carricd amid a thunderous burst of applause. Even after he had loft Cleveland, Mr. , Borah added something of a discordant • note to the otherwise seemingly har- : monious Republican situation. Accord- , ing to reports from Akron lie was ■ stunned by Mr. Landon's interpretation j of the currency plank and his insistence ,' upon supporting an amendment to the i i Constitution to allow the States to | protect working women and children if | other means failed to gain the desired ' | objective.

THE PLATFORM. Old Traditional Expressions of Promises. MIRROR OF NEW DEAL. CLEVELAND, June 12. Twice the Republican Convention assembled, and twice went into recess because the Platform Committee could not come to an agreement as to the exact phraseology of the planks. The platform finally was finished at 8 p.m. It comprises about 3500 words and combines all the old traditional ex- ' pressions in which political promises are I framed. | The following pledges are made 011 issues of international significance: — The platform affirms the faith of the party in a protective tariff, advocates I the repeal of the reciprocal trade agreerinents law and the end of secret nego-

tiations of trade agreements. It promises tli<» restoration of the principle of a flexible tariff, opposes further devaluation of the dollar, demands the repeal of all laws whereby Congress delegates to the President power to issue and regulate the currency and advocates international stabilisation of the currency, but does not indicate when. The foreign affairs plank opposes foreign alliances or political commitments, as demanded by Mr. Borah. It opposes America's entry to the World ■Court or the League of Nations, advo- | cates international co-operation in the I limitation of armaments and the traffic in arms. The party pledges itself to make every effort to collect war debts and condemns the Roosevelt Government for its failure to reopen the negotiations with the debtor nations. On social and economic questions, the platform in many respects is a mirror of the New Deal, except that it advocates the of powers and responsibilities to the States instead of to the Federal Government. UnemjTloyment insurance by the States is also advocated. The Labour plank acknowledges Labour's right to collective bargaining "by representatives of their own choosing." This is the language of Section 7A of the National Recovery Act. The platform also approves the adoption of State laws and inter-State compacts to abolish "sweat shops" and child labour and to protect women and children in respect of maximum hours and minimum wages. "This can be done within the Constitution as it now stands," says the platform. I The agricultural plank opposes crop control and advocates "a national land use programme," the family typo of farms, some system of export bounties for surplus agricultural products and protection for American farmers against the importation of livestock and dairy and agricultural prod acts which compete with American farm prices. The platform was adopted unanimously.